WHY WE ENDORSED: The choice for this race is as clear as it was for the primary: Claudia Jimenez offers the level-headed commitment and thoughtful approach that's required to boost the performance of the School Board.

Additions of Matt McCain and Jimenez could provide taxpayers and parents with the most intelligent and energetic board in many years. Jimenez's academic background &#151; including degrees from Cornell and Queens (Ontario) universities &#151; gives her the tools to research and understand the scholastic challenges facing the district.

Her composure in the four-way editorial board interview before the primary stood out. While others, including opponent Charles Wilson, rambled or picked fights, Jimenez stayed above the fray, and remained focused in a measured manner. Her ability to thoughtfully process and analyze competing interests is apparent in her balanced approach to district concerns &#151; be they fiscal or academic or interpersonal.

Jimenez recognizes that the district's administration has long been "top-heavy" and credits Superintendent Harry La Cava with reining in costs. That said, she said she was disappointed in the board's decision to pay him almost $100,000 in sick time accrued in Broward County.

Jimenez is realistic about academic shortcomings, giving the district an overall "C," in contrast with the "A" rating bestowed by the state this year. "Where's the critical thinking?" Jimenez asks. Indeed.

Mother of two Vero Beach High School students, Jimenez has been involved in a parents' gifted-education task force and rightly calls the district's delivery of gifted services "feeble."

WHY WE DIDN'T ENDORSE: While Wilson is the strongest candidate on charter schools, but he has reason to be: He helped represent Imagine Charter Schools in that company's efforts to bring two campuses here.

Wilson, as he showed with his advocacy for Imagine, is a professional spin-meister. He has carefully framed at least a part of the debate in this race as a left-right battle over sex education in the schools. His only hope to win, for his credentials just aren't there, is to convince the public that he's the conservatives' knight in shining armor to the liberals' Maleficent. His supporters have gone so far as to question Jimenez's religious beliefs. Talk about dirty pool.

Wilson's polarizing spin is evident in other campaigns he has been involved in this year, including Cathy Hart's personal, ugly, ill-fated effort to oust the supervisor of elections. Despite his populist palaver, Wilson isn't so much a serious School Board candidate as he is a political operative dabbling in other election campaigns.

ON THE RECORD: In response to opposition claims that Jimenez will try to do away with the district's abstinence sex-education policy, she said it's not in her "purview" or her "agenda" or "intent."

"It's not imperative that there be reform," she said, noting that school professionals are on the front lines of such curriculum and should suggest changes, but only if necessary.

Interestingly, Reuter's opponents four years ago claimed she would push a liberal social agenda on the board. Opponents of pro-life candidate Craig McGarvey made similar claims before he was elected to two terms. Both steered clear of personal dogma in their board tenures. There's no reason to think Jimenez would be different.

WE RECOMMEND CLAUDIA JIMENEZ

Jimenez says: "(At a recent union negotiation) I perceived an "us vs. them" mentality that benefits no one, least of all students. I would strive to improve the relationship between the district and the union by encouraging both to stay focused on their common goal: educating students." Her priorities: 1. Stop wasting money. 2. Increase transparency and communication with parents and community. 3. Assess vocational programs.